Reuben Adeleye Abati (born 7 November 1965) is a Nigerian journalist, politician, TV presenter and newspaper columnist. He was the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)'s deputy governor candidate in Ogun State in the 2019 Gubernatorial election. Abati was Special Adviser on media to President

Goodluck Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to former military head of state General Muhammadu Buhari and ...

of Nigeria between Year 2011 and 2015 . He had previously been a newspaper

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...

and the chairman of the editorial board of the Nigerian newspaper ''The Guardian'', from 2001 to 2011.

Education

Abati graduated from the University of Calabar, Nigeria in 1985. He later studied at the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public university located in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Initially founded as the University College Ibadan in 1948, it maintained its affiliation with the University of London. In 1962, it became an independe ...

as a University Scholar. He holds a PhD in Theatre Arts, specializing in Dramatic Literature, Theory and Criticism from the University of Ibadan (1990); a bachelor's degree in law from

Lagos State University Lagos State University (LASU) is a state-owned university established by the Lagos State government in 1983. Its main campus is situated at Ojo, Lagos State, Ojo, with sub-campuses at Ikeja and Epe. The university was set up "for the advanceme ...

, Lagos (1999); a professional training certificate in journalism from the College of Journalism, University of Maryland, College Park, United States (1996–97); and a Certificate in Management and Leadership from the Said Business School, University of Oxford (2015). Abati now graduates with master's degree in international law and diplomacy studies from the university of Lagos 2025.

Career

Journalistic career

Abati originally started his career as a university teacher, teaching courses in drama and literature at the Olabisi Onabajo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, South West Nigeria. Between 2000 and 2011, Reuben Abati was also a member and co-presenter of the television discussion programme, Patito's Gang, founded by Professor Pat Utomi. Between 2003 and 2007, he served as a member of the Governing Council of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State and was a member of the Board of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (2007-2011). Before working in government, Reuben Abati was chairman of the editorial board at The Guardian Newspapers, a privately owned, independent Nigerian newspaper from 2000 to 2011. He also was Editorial Page Editor and columnist, running two columns per week.

Working at the Presidency

In 2011, he was appointed Special Adviser, Media and Publicity and as Official Spokesperson to President

of Nigeria. In that capacity, he was responsible for managing the President's media office, media relations and leading the Presidency's public communications team.

Post Presidency media work

After his stint in government, Reuben Abati returned to journalism, writing his regular two columns in The Guardian newspaper (Fridays and Sundays). He subsequently moved to ThisDay newspaper where he now writes a Tuesday column titled: ''TuesdayWithReubenAbati''. He is a presenter of Arise News' ''The Morning Show,'' alongside Ojy Okpe and is actively engaged as a consultant on media and public policy issues.

References

External links

Abati's page on Nigerian Village Square
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abati, Reuben Living people People from Abeokuta Nigerian newspaper journalists University of Calabar alumni 1965 births Jonathan administration personnel Nigerian expatriates in the United States Nigerian television presenters Nigeria political journalists University of Ibadan alumni